Seraphina's fingers curled into the sheets beneath her. "How?" The word barely escaped her lips, but Ezrin heard it.
He exhaled sharply, his grip on her wrists unrelenting. "You tell me." His voice was low, a challenge in itself. "You're the one who wants me to believe you."
Seraphina's mind raced. There was no easy way out—Ezrin wouldn't back down. His fury burned in his gaze, and she knew if she didn't prove herself now, the doubt in his mind would never leave.
Her voice was steady, but her heart pounded. "I scrubbed my skin until it burned, Ezrin. That's why I'm red." She held his gaze, her breath uneven. "I let Elias touch me, yes, but only as much as I had to. Nothing more."
Ezrin's jaw tightened. He didn't move, didn't release her. "And you expect me to just believe that?" His voice was dangerously quiet, but something flickered in his eyes—hesitation.
Seraphina lifted her chin, her body tense beneath his. "Then tell me what I have to do."
Ezrin studied her, his expression unreadable, his grip still firm. Then, suddenly, his fingers traced her waist—over the marks she had left on herself. A stark contrast to the one Elias had given her.
His touch wasn't gentle. It was deliberate. Testing. Possessive.
"I want every single detail." His voice was like ice. "Every second you spent with him. Every touch. Every word."
Seraphina's stomach twisted. Every single detail.
She clenched her jaw. He wanted to torture himself with the truth? Fine. But she knew Ezrin—this wasn't about knowing. It was about control. He wanted to hear it from her, to drag her through every moment until she had nothing left to hide.
"You really want to hear it?" Her voice was steady, but her fingers trembled in his grasp.
Ezrin didn't flinch. "Every word."
Seraphina swallowed hard. Fine. If that's what he wanted.
"He took me to a private club," she began, her voice colder than she felt. "It was secluded. He had a room there. We drank. He sat close—closer than necessary."
Ezrin's hold on her tightened, but he didn't interrupt.
"Then?" His voice was lethal.
Seraphina hesitated, the words threatening to catch in her throat. She forced them out. "He touched me. My hand first. Then my leg. He was testing my boundaries. I let him."
Ezrin's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. He was making her say it all.
"Go on."
Seraphina inhaled sharply. "He kissed me." The lie tasted like poison, but it was necessary. Let him think she hadn't resisted. Let him believe she played along completely.
Ezrin's entire body stilled above her. His eyes darkened, the storm within them raging. His grip on her wrists turned bruising.
"You let him." The words were spoken, but they held no emotion. Just fury, cold and sharp.
Seraphina held his gaze, forcing herself not to recoil. "Yes."
Something inside him snapped.
In a single motion, he let go of her wrists—only to grab her jaw instead. His fingers dug in, tilting her face up to his, his gaze searching—for what? Lies? Truth? Regret?
His breath was harsh, uneven. "Then tell me, Seraphina—" his thumb pressed against her jaw, forcing her to meet his gaze, "Did you like it?"
Her breath hitched, pulse pounding in her ears. His grip was unrelenting, his body hovering over hers, suffocating her with his presence.
"Did you like it?"
The question sent a shiver down her spine. Not from fear, but from the sheer intensity behind his words—his fury, his demand.
She knew the answer he wanted. He wanted her to say no. To beg, to break, to confess that every second of it had been unbearable.
But she wouldn't.
Instead, she forced a smirk, masking the turmoil within. "Why does it matter?" Her voice was steady, barely.
Ezrin's eyes flashed dangerously. "Answer me."
She tilted her chin, pushing against his hold slightly. "Would it change anything?"
His fingers dug in, his breathing uneven, his fury pressing down on her like a storm ready to consume everything in its path.
Then—he moved.
His grip left her jaw only to pin her wrists above her head again. This time, no space remained between them. His chest pressed against hers, his heat overwhelming.
Seraphina struggled, but it was useless. His strength. His rage. His obsession. It was all caging her in.
"You think this is a game, Seraphina?" His voice was dark, low, dangerously quiet.
She clenched her jaw, refusing to react.
"You let him touch you. You let him leave his mark on you. And now you sit here, acting like it meant nothing?" His hold on her wrists tightened. "Lying to my face?"
Seraphina inhaled sharply. "I'm not lying."
Ezrin's lips curled into something between a smirk and a snarl. "Then prove it."
Her heart pounded. "What do you want me to do?"
Silence thickened between them.
Ezrin leaned in, his voice brushing against her ear like a whisper of a threat.
"Make me believe you."
Seraphina's breathing was uneven, her mind racing. Ezrin wouldn't accept words alone—he wanted proof.
"I told you the truth." Her voice was quiet but firm.
Ezrin's eyes burned into hers. "Then show me."
Seraphina swallowed hard. "How?"
Ezrin released one of her wrists, trailing his fingers down her face, then lower—his touch featherlight against her throat, brushing over the mark that had sent him spiraling.
"Erase it." His voice was deep, raw. "If it meant nothing, then erase it."
Seraphina tensed. "You're being irrational."
Ezrin chuckled darkly, his grip tightening again. "Am I?" His gaze flickered to where her shirt had ridden up, exposing the irritated redness of her skin.
His expression darkened.
"You scrubbed yourself raw." His voice dropped lower, more dangerous. "You said you let him touch you, yet you tried to erase every trace of him."
Seraphina clenched her jaw. "I told you, it was a game."
Ezrin's fingers brushed her waist, tracing the faint redness there. "Then why does your body say otherwise?"
Her patience snapped. "What do you want from me, Ezrin?" Her voice was sharper now. "Do you want me to beg for you to believe me?"
Ezrin's smirk disappeared. His grip on her wrists tightened for a fraction of a second before he abruptly let go.
Seraphina sat up quickly, rubbing her wrists.
Ezrin leaned back, running a hand through his hair, his breathing heavier than before. "No," he muttered. "I want you to understand something, Seraphina."
She met his gaze cautiously.
He leaned in again, dangerously close. "I don't share what's mine."
Seraphina's breath caught.
His fingers traced along her jaw before stopping at her throat. "And I don't believe in meaningless games."
Her pulse pounded, but she refused to look away.
"Then stop treating me like I'm yours," she whispered.
Ezrin's eyes darkened. His smirk returned, cold and possessive.
"Too late."
A charged silence filled the space between them, the weight of his words sinking deep into Seraphina's chest.
She refused to look away, refused to break under his intense stare, but her pulse betrayed her—erratic, unsteady, too aware of his touch.
Ezrin's fingers lingered at her throat, his thumb brushing over the bruise once more, as if erasing it with his touch could undo the fact that it had ever been there.
Seraphina swallowed, her voice low but firm. "You don't own me, Ezrin."
His smirk didn't waver, but his grip did. For a fraction of a second, his fingers twitched—almost like he wanted to tighten them, to force her to take those words back.
Instead, he leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath ghosting over her lips. "You're right." His voice was dangerously soft. "But tell me, Seraphina—does that mean you belong to him instead?"
Her body went rigid.
Ezrin saw it. Felt it.
His smirk faded, replaced by something far more dangerous. His other hand came up, trapping her completely.
Seraphina clenched her jaw. "Don't twist this."
Ezrin chuckled darkly, but there was no amusement in it.
"Then tell me what you want me to believe." His grip on her jaw tightened slightly, tilting her chin up. "That you let him touch you but it didn't mean anything? That you walked away like it was just another mission?"
Seraphina exhaled sharply. "Yes."
Ezrin's lips parted—disbelief, fury, something deeper flashing across his face.
"Then prove it."
She barely had time to process those two words before he moved.
Seraphina gasped, instinctively trying to push herself up, but Ezrin was faster.
He was above her in seconds, his hands pinning her down, his body pressing against hers, his gaze dark and unrelenting.
She struggled, but he wasn't letting her go. Not this time.
His fingers curled around her wrists again, his knee between her legs, his weight keeping her exactly where he wanted her.
Ezrin exhaled slowly, watching her with something dangerous, unreadable.
"Erase him."
Seraphina's breath caught. "What?"
Ezrin leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You scrubbed your skin to erase him, didn't you?" His fingers pressed into her wrists. "Then erase him completely."
She shuddered. "You're insane."
Ezrin smirked, but his grip remained firm. "Prove it, Seraphina." His lips ghosted over her ear. "Make me believe that he never touched you."
The challenge in his voice was undeniable.
But so was the promise beneath it.
Seraphina's words echoed between them, lingering in the thick silence.
"Then you erase him."
Ezrin froze for a fraction of a second. Just a second.
Then, everything snapped.
His fingers loosened from her wrists—only to trail lower, brushing over the faint red streaks on her waist, the bruised skin on her neck.
Everywhere Elias had touched.
Seraphina's breath caught as he traced over each mark, his movements slow, deliberate. Claiming. Possessing. Erasing.
"You don't know what you just asked for," he murmured, voice rough with something far more dangerous than anger.
Seraphina lifted her chin, a challenge burning in her eyes."Then show me."
Ezrin's patience shattered.
His grip tightened around her waist as he pushed her back down onto the mattress, pressing into her, caging her beneath him.
"You let him touch you," he growled against her ear, "but you tremble under me?"
His fingers brushed against the faint bruise on her neck before his lips followed, pressing against it, burning away any trace of Elias.Replacing it.
Seraphina shuddered, her pulse hammering.
"If it meant nothing," Ezrin continued, his breath hot against her skin, "then you won't react, will you?"
His fingers curled around her jaw, forcing her to look at him."Tell me, Seraphina. Did he make you feel like this?"
Her throat bobbed, but she didn't answer.
Ezrin's smirk was cold. "You can't lie to me."
His touch moved lower, along the places Elias had touched, but this time, it was different.
This time, she felt it.
"Say it." His voice was a whisper, a command. "Say my name."
Seraphina's breath stuttered.
Ezrin's grip on her waist tightened. "Make me believe you."
Seraphina clenched her jaw, refusing.
Ezrin chuckled darkly, but there was no humor in it."You want me to erase him?" His fingers pressed into her skin, his lips barely brushing her ear. "Then don't run from it."
She tensed, but Ezrin didn't give her a chance to escape.
He tilted her head back, forcing her to look at him again.
"Say it."
The air was heavy, suffocating.
Her pulse thundered.
And finally—finally, she whispered, "Ezrin."
That was it.
His grip tightened, his lips ghosting over her skin again. "Good girl."
The moment the words left her lips, everything changed.
Ezrin didn't smirk, didn't revel in his victory. He wasn't done.
His grip on her waist tightened, his fingers pressing into her skin, grounding her beneath him. His touch wasn't soft—it was deliberate, claiming. As if making sure she understood exactly what she had just done.
Seraphina's breath hitched. "Ezrin—"
His lips brushed against the fading bruise on her neck, his touch slow but possessive.Erasing. Replacing.
His voice was a whisper, a quiet storm."Again."
Seraphina tensed. "What?"
Ezrin pulled back just enough to meet her gaze. His eyes burned, his pupils blown wide with something darker than anger.
"Say my name again."
Her heart pounded against her ribs. The way he was looking at her, like she belonged to him,like there was no reality where she could ever belong to someone else, was suffocating.
Seraphina swallowed hard, but she didn't obey.
Ezrin's fingers flexed against her waist."I said—" his grip tightened ever so slightly, "say it again."
Seraphina's nails curled into his arms, but she stayed silent.
Ezrin exhaled sharply, his control slipping. "You think you can still fight me?" His voice was low, mocking. "You already gave in, Seraphina. You just don't want to admit it."
She clenched her jaw. "I didn't give in to anything."
Ezrin chuckled—a dark, humorless sound."Then why are you still beneath me?"
Her pulse skipped.
He leaned down, his lips brushing just below her ear. His voice was a whisper—soft, dangerous.
"Why do I still have you?"
Seraphina's breath came uneven.
Ezrin was too close, his touch too consuming, too much.
And he knew it.
His lips ghosted over her jawline, tracing everywhere Elias had touched, until there was nothing left of him.
Seraphina shuddered.
Ezrin smirked against her skin. "Good girl."
Her entire body tensed. It wasn't a compliment—it was a reminder.
A reminder that she had lost.
That she had let him in—again.
And there was no undoing it.
The realization hit her like a storm.
Ezrin had won.
Not just in this moment—but in every moment leading up to this. Every time she thought she had control, he had found a way to take it from her. To consume her. To own her.
Her nails curled into the fabric of his shirt, as if holding onto something—anything—to keep herself from slipping further.
But it was too late.
Ezrin's grip on her waist was firm, his thumb brushing over the skin he had claimed as if he could feel her resolve breaking.
"You understand now, don't you?" His voice was low, almost gentle, but laced with something far more dangerous.
Seraphina's breath came shallow. She refused to answer.
Ezrin smirked against her skin, his lips trailing down just enough to make her body react before he pulled back, just enough to look her in the eyes.
"Say it again."
Seraphina swallowed hard, shaking her head.
Ezrin's fingers tightened around her waist, the pressure just enough to send a shiver through her.
"Say it."
She couldn't.
Not because she didn't want to. Because she knew what it meant if she did.
Ezrin exhaled slowly, watching her with knowing eyes.
Then, he leaned in, voice nothing but a whisper.
"You want me to force it out of you?"
Her stomach tightened.
Because she knew he would. And she knew she would break.
Again.
Seraphina's breathing grew uneven.
Ezrin's presence was too much, his grip too firm, his gaze too consuming—like a predator watching its prey squirm, waiting for it to break.
She wouldn't.
She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to steady her voice. "I don't owe you anything, Ezrin."
His smirk deepened, but his eyes were far from amused. "Don't you?"
His fingers brushed against her waist, just over the raw marks she had left on herself. A reminder. A reminder that she had tried to erase someone else.
A reminder that he wouldn't let her forget who she belonged to.
Seraphina tried to shift beneath him, but he didn't budge.
"Let me go."
Ezrin exhaled a slow, dark chuckle, his grip tightening. "You think I can just let you go after this?"
Seraphina's pulse hammered. "This is nothing."
Ezrin's expression shifted. His fingers pressed into her skin, his body pushing closer, his voice nothing but a whisper against her ear.
"Then why do you look like you're about to shatter?"
Her breath hitched.
He was right. She felt it.
The way her body tensed beneath his. The way her hands refused to push him away. The way she was still here.
Ezrin saw it. Felt it.
His grip moved from her waist to her wrist, trapping her again, just as he always did.
"Say it, Seraphina."
She clenched her jaw. "No."
Ezrin's smirk returned, but this time, it was something darker. Something victorious.
"Then I'll make you."
And before she could react—he did.
Ezrin moved.
Before Seraphina could process it, before she could even think of resisting, his lips crashed against her throat.
Right over the bruise.
Right where Elias had touched her.
Her body froze.
The breath she had been holding vanished, her fingers instinctively clutching his shirt, but she didn't push him away.
Ezrin's grip on her wrist tightened, pinning her completely as his mouth lingered on her skin, hot, unrelenting, erasing.
"You wanted me to erase him, didn't you?" His voice was low, muffled against her skin. "Then don't fight it now."
Seraphina's heart slammed against her ribs, her pulse erratic.
She wasn't fighting.
She should have been.
But instead, her body betrayed her.
Ezrin felt it—the way her breathing changed, the way her fingers tightened instead of pushing.
A slow, dark smirk curled against her throat before he kissed the mark again.
This time, softer. Intentional. Possessive.
His voice sent a shiver down her spine. "You let him put his hands on you, but now you tremble under mine?"
Seraphina finally snapped back to reality, turning her face away.
"Ezrin, stop." Her voice was weaker than she wanted it to be.
But Ezrin wasn't listening.
His free hand slid down the curve of her waist, over every mark she had left on herself.He was replacing them. All of them.
"You scrubbed yourself raw trying to erase him." His lips barely grazed her jawline. "Tell me, does this feel like nothing?"
Seraphina's breath hitched, her body stiffening.
And Ezrin noticed.
His grip on her loosened just slightly, his fingers brushing against her knuckles.
Then—his voice dropped lower, his next words almost gentle.
"Say it, Seraphina."
She bit her lip, refusing.
Ezrin's smirk returned. "Then I'll make you."
And this time—she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.
Ezrin didn't move away.
His grip stayed firm, his body pressed close, his presence overwhelming. The air between them was charged, thick with something undeniable, inescapable.
Seraphina clenched her jaw, willing herself to push him away.
But she didn't.
Ezrin's fingers trailed back up to her throat, his thumb brushing over the mark he had just replaced. His breath was warm against her skin, his lips still ghosting over the spot, as if sealing his claim.
Her pulse pounded beneath his touch, erratic and too loud.
He felt it.
He knew.
Seraphina turned her head, her lips barely parting. "You..." She stopped herself, her voice unsteady. "You proved your point."
Ezrin's lips curled into a slow, satisfied smirk. "Did I?"
His fingers loosened slightly around her wrist, giving her a chance to pull away.
She didn't take it.
Ezrin exhaled softly, his voice dropping even lower. "Then say it, Seraphina."
Her heart pounded.
He was waiting. Testing her.
Daring her.
Seraphina swallowed hard. She knew what he wanted.
And maybe... for the first time, she had no reason to deny it.
Her lips parted. Her voice came out softer than she intended.
"You erased him."
Ezrin's grip flexed against her waist, just for a second. His smirk faded.
For the first time that night, his eyes held something deeper—something almost unreadable.
Then—he leaned in, his lips grazing her ear.
"Good girl."
A shiver ran down Seraphina's spine.
Ezrin slowly pulled back, but the intensity in his gaze remained. He lingered for a moment, studying her, memorizing the way she looked beneath him.
And then—he let her go.
The weight of his body lifted as he leaned back, his expression unreadable again.
Seraphina lay there for a few seconds, her breath still uneven, her body still tingling from his touch.
Her fingers curled into the fabric of her shirt, gripping onto something, anything, to ground herself.
Ezrin watched her, his lips curling slightly, like he already knew what she was thinking.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he stood up.
His voice was calm, controlled. "Now go home, Seraphina."
She blinked, pushing herself up, still reeling.
Her heart pounded, her body still betraying her—but she refused to let him see it.
So, she did what she always did.
She collected herself. She adjusted her collar. She walked away.
But as she stepped out of the room, her fingers brushed over the mark on her neck—the one Ezrin had left behind.
And for the first time, she didn't feel the need to erase it.